To add page numbers in Microsoft Word, follow these steps:
- Go to the Insert tab on the ribbon.
- Click on Page Number in the Header & Footer group.
- Choose the location where you want the page numbers to appear (top of page, bottom of page, etc.) and select a style you prefer from the gallery (e.g., Plain Number 3 for top-right)
If you want to customize further:
- To remove the page number from the first page (such as a title page), check the Different First Page option in the Header & Footer tab after inserting the page numbers
- To start numbering from a specific page (for example, start at page 1 on page 3), insert a section break at the desired page via Layout > Breaks > Next Page, unlink the header/footer from the previous section, and then format the page numbers to start at 1 in the new section
- You can also format page numbers to use different numbering styles (e.g., Roman numerals i, ii, iii for preliminary pages and Arabic numerals 1, 2, 3 for main content) by using section breaks and the Format Page Numbers dialog under the Page Number menu
To add your name along with the page number in the header:
- After inserting the page number, click in the header area before the number and type your name, then add a space. This will display your name followed by the page number on all pages except the first if you have selected Different First Page
When finished, click Close Header and Footer or press Esc to return to the document. This method works for all recent versions of Microsoft Word and allows flexible control over page numbering and header/footer content
